Faculty, staff and students in the College of Education will soon be walking the corridors of O’Donnell Hall again as a major renovation project draws to a close at the end of the year.

The project, which started in August 2006, is on schedule to be completed at the end of December and students could be in the new classrooms by the spring 2008 semester. The entire building, which includes a new three-story office wing, a new entryway and two new large classrooms, could be in service as early as the summer of 2008.

The College of Education has called O’Donnell Hall home since 1968, but part of the building was sinking and the college had outgrown the space.

Dean Robert Moulton said the renovation and enlargement are needed for the college to continue to address New Mexico’s need for highly trained teachers.

The College of Education now serves 1,700 undergraduates and 1,000 graduate students.

Jennifer Villa, director of the Educational Learning Resource Center, said there were as many as three people sharing one office for some of the college’s grant-funded projects and even some closets had been turned into offices.

Villa, who has been coordinating many of the aspects of temporarily relocating a large portion of the college, said faculty, staff and students have been cooperative and cheerful during the process and are looking forward to returning to O’Donnell Hall.